Thirteen years after James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar sparked the growth of the giant 3D-screen era in the Chinese movie market, its long-awaited sequel The Way of Water is set to greet audiences on the mainland on Dec 16.

According to data on Chinese movie ticketing platform Maoyan, more than 600,000 netizens have added the movie in their “want to watch” lists after the release date was announced, causing the film to rise to the top of the soon-to-be released films on the platform.

“The release of the film will lift up the Chinese film market, providing a‘timely rainfall' for cinemas suffering from the drought caused by the pandemic,” Beijing-based film critic Shi Wenxue told the Global Times on Wednesday.

“I have been ready to buy tickets and return to the cinema.

I hope the pandemic situation is eased at that time so that cinemas can open,”one Sina Weibo user commented.

The Way of Water tells the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

As a lot of the scenes took place underwater, Cameron and his team tailored a motion-capture system specialized for underwater cinematography.

Moreover, the crew prepared a gigantic 900,000-gallon water tank that could simulate currents and waves in a raging ocean.

Director James Cameron has not placed a price tag on The Way of Water, but estimates suggest it is in excess of $250 million.

The writer and director told GQ magazine that the sequel budget is so high, that the film will need to become the third or fourth-highest grossing film in history to break even.